Relative Relations
by Athina.na
Summary: Here he believed that Asch and Luke were the most unlucky of people. Unfortunately, they also had the tendancy of getting into trouble. And of course, they needed someone to help them out of it.
1. Chapter I

_**A/N**_: Ok…just to be clear on this, this is just a pet project that I don't really plan on ever finishing. Ideas and plots come and go in my head. I don't like them, I drop them. I like them, I follow them up to the point where everything gets too ridiculous and impossible, and then drop them. So don't expect me to actually finish this. I'm just following my Imagination around.

**_Edit:_**3/1/13 Fixed a couple of small mistakes.

_**Relative Relations**_

_Chapter I_

Jade sighed.

It was at times like this that he wished he was a simpler man. One without his scientific genius or his status as the infamous Necromancer or even a Colonel of the Malkuth military.

Pushing his glasses above his eyes, he pinched the bridge of his nose. Attempting to ignore the ranting voice and stomping boots pacing in front of his desk. It was almost physically impossible to resist getting up and tossing Peony outside of his office.

Jade winced as the voice reached a higher octave and he wonder just _when_ he would be left alone to finish his ever-growing piles of unfinished paperwork.

Or manage enough time to maybe go through some of those old reports about fonon activity after the Planet Storm was terminated, the researchers in Belkend _will_ be needing those back at some point. They can't have sensitive material scattered around.

And now that he thought about it, he could do with some research himself. Fomicry, while still banned, was no longer feasible so simply studying it isn't too much of a crime. And replicas around the world might need special attention now that the seventh fonons are quickly becoming rare.

In the medical aspect, replicas are physically the exact same as humans. And since humans are, like all living things, made up of the different fonons, replicas are essentially the same. After all, the seventh fonon _is_ the amalgamation of the first through sixth fonons, so replicas end up as humans plus seventh fonons.

Now, the average person does not need to take in fonons to survive. They are born with their fonons, they live their whole life with them and die with them. Even fonists, who use fonons for their artes, do not need to absorb them to survive.

Of course, since they are so used to taking in fonons through their fon slots, they start doing it subconsciously. But that does not have an impact on their system, other than maybe getting tired a little easier than most.

By recycling fonons they use up energy, so they get tired. But should they stop all activity involving fonons, they would be just another average person. And with no more fonons being made and artes quickly becoming a far away dream, fonists will also cease to exist. Which also means that he will no longer need his glasses. A disheartening thought.

Very soon, he won't be able to loom over people and intimidate them with a piercing, crimson gaze. Well, he would just have to get used to his old, light brown again.

"…and I am just so-Jade are you _listening_?"

* * *

It was ironic.

Now, he's known Peony for a good part of his life. So he's had time to watch him, study him. He knew well enough that the man was, while not spoiled, certainly used to getting what he wanted.

He wouldn't expect others to work so he could have it, no. He likes to get his hands dirty to make it to his prize. And may Lorelei help anyone who gets in his way.

Nowadays though, he is campaigning. Unfortunately the one causing, listening and being the object of said campaign was Jade himself. He could see it, just like he had been for the past two months.

Peony, face split into a grin, pacing around in his office and ranting, loudly, about how Jade has been neglecting him. Never mind that the population of the whole floor was gathered outside his door. Or that the council was breathing down both their necks for not doing their jobs properly.

No, never mind them. Jade has been back for months and doesn't even drop by to say hello to him. Him, his best friend, his Emperor no less. His Jade was avoiding him. That, was simply unacceptable.

The events following Peony's decision to remedy that resulted in many sleepless nights to finish piles of paperwork for Jade. Sore feet and scratchy voices for the Emperor. Jade developing a resistance to painkillers used against migraines caused from listening to hour long rants. And finally, utter humiliation for Peony by way of Jade kicking him out the HQ gates.

Now, a week after the_ scandalous _event of the Emperor being dragged out of the military buildings by his "lover"- which Jade had apparently become without knowing, no doubt the work of the rumor mill- the Colonel was packing.

The day previous, he had decided to make Peony's "demand" reality by actually dropping by the man's office in the palace. Lest the blonde think that another _campaign _was necessary.

It was unfortunate that, by the time he was five feet from the door, it was opened by a member of the Palace Guard sent to fetch him.

The man stopped upon seeing him not three feet away, turned back to his Emperor, reported his mission as complete, excused himself and left. Peony was left to look dumbfounded at Jade, hand poised to sign a document.

"Are you a psychic as well as a mad scientist Jade?"

Jade chuckled, and stepped in the room, closing the door behind him, watching curiously at Peony as the surprise melted from his face, being replaced with mild seriousness.

And it was ironic, that the one time he decided to visit Peony in his office, the man sends him, personally, off on a mission.

It was official, he was going to the Absorption Gate.


	2. Chapter II

_**A/N:**_ OK, chapter two is up. I'm taking this easy, so don't expect regular updates or anything for this. The prologue was kind of short, so I made this one a bit longer. Still setting up the stage, so there isn't too much development.

**_Edit:_ **3/1/13 Fixed some obvious mistakes and played around with sentences.

_Chapter II_

The icy winds howled outside. Snow and hail fell on the deck of the ship, and Jade could hear the crew grumbling about having to clean and patch up the ship until they could reach port.

Everyone was irritable and twitchy, having been holed up below deck all day. It was impossible to go outside with the storm raging. And the ship was rocking hard enough to almost topple over. The snowstorm had started early in the morning and was still going strong now in the late evening.

But it was no wonder, he thought absentmindedly, collecting the papers spread on the table. They were after all passing by the snow continent of Sylvana. Snowstorms can carry over a long distance, and apparently the ship's course was right through a pretty violent one.

And the likeliness of the rest of the trip continuing under the same conditions was high. They all knew that, which is why all - passengers and crew - were so annoyed. The Absorption Gate was situated to the northern tip of Auldrant, above Sylvana. Snow and storms were a common occurrence there.

Of course getting to the Absorption Gate was the easy part of his mission. Though the sudden and violent changes in weather lately were worrying, a little hail was not nearly enough to keep the cargo ship from completing its voyage. The problem lay with the latest readings from the Gates.

"…_It's alarming. With the Planet Storm terminated, activity at the Sephiroth should be simple maintanance. Meaning that the irregular readings we have recorded so far should, by all means, not exist._

_Of course, at the beginning, we believed that it was a malfunction from one of our machines. The Sephiroth did not make any mistakes, they were made flawlessly. If they made mistakes, well, the Outer Lands would have already not been here for a long time before we were all born._

_Regardless, we didn't pay the first faulty reading any heed. We hadn't yet managed to establish communication with the other Sephiroth, so neither the Absorption nor the Radiation Gate teams realized that the machines had made the so called faulty readings at apart roughly the time it would take for fonons to be Absorbed, sent through the Planet Storm and Radiated again._

_We have no way of following a certain fonon as it goes through the cycle, so we can only estimate._

_After a week of periodically getting these unusual readings we checked the machines for any problems and rechecked when we hadn't found any problmes or glitches and were still receiving these impossible numbers._

_We were just about to tear the machines apart and rebuild them so we could be certain we hadn't missed anything, when the Absorption Team sent a message asking us about whether we had any abnormal activity from the Gate._

_After we had finished comparing reports we had realized that the Gates were still going through the motions of the cycle with short but regular bursts of fonons. Which means that, against all odds, the Planet Storm is still occurring, albeit in a sickly manner. _

_Fonons are being slowly replenished. After a year of drastic decline, the Sephiroth are attempting to, at least, stabilize the amount of fonons. Of course the change wouldn't be detectable anywhere in the world other than the Sephiroth. The increase is miniscule, but it is a steady rise. _

_We sent the reports to Belkend to be analyzed along with all other research material, but I believed that this would interest you Colonel, so I sent this report detailing our results and any possible future implications…"_

He put the papers down on the table after rifling through them for the umpteenth time, pinching the bridge of his nose.

It was quite considerate of Cathy to send a copy of the latest report. But at this point, everything was still up in the air. It was impossible to make even a semi-accurate prediction of how things would end up, speculations was all they had.

The briefing had given him little to work with. The only points highlighted were possible machine malfunctions, unusual readings and frantic scientists that couldn't make sense of whatever it was that they had found in their research.

Really, the way he had been briefed bunched things up in an incoherent mass of half truths and missing reports from the inability of military-officers-turned-paper-pushers-due-to-syst em-overload-from-international-world-crisis whose paperwork had jumbled their minds to the point that they hadn't cared where this file ended up so long as it doesn't get sent back here, to work properly.

And while he had been _recruited_ for the task himself, he was loath to put himself in that category, so his files at least ended up where they _should_. If anything he was efficient. But his efforts were not quite enough.

Meaning that half of the information that was to be given to him was lost somewhere along the bureaucratic line leading to the briefing for his mission.

The numbers, figures, diagrams and results littered with Cathy's neat notes made up a thick, bound tome full of everything the teams had managed to gather up concerning the resurrected Planet Storm in the past few months, detailing any possible 'why's this may be happening, the continual rise in fonons and anything else Cathy believed he would be able to make sense of.

She hadn't sent him everything. He may be a scientist, but the research incorporated and handled parts of science outside of his field of expertise. Despite that, it was enough to give him a detailed picture of what it was that was happening. It was not at all reassuring.

He remembered a note distinctly saying "**The up to the point recorded aftereffects from the unstable levels of the fonons were restricted to slight changes in weather around Sephiroth and fon slots"**.

And as the ship lurched dangerously to the side, with curses flying around the room as people scrambled to find something to hold on to, he wondered whether by _"slight changes"_ they meant a change of one or two degrees or the fact that the whole of Auldrant was going through some of the worst natural disasters to date.

He pushed off against the wall he had leaned on, letting this chair fall back on all fours with a bang. A good number of the passengers gave him annoyed looks for his lack of visible discomfort.

He merely smiled back at them, bemused. Other than the crew and a couple of other officers sent with him, the rest of the passengers were made up from the hunched forms of scientists, technicians and mechanics. None of them all that used to the rough weather.

His almost-again-light-brown-eyes swept over the room, lingering on the small group sitting next to the port hole. Had he known what it meant to be nauseous, he would have pitied them. As of the start of the storm they had been just about ready to throw open the window and spill their guts.

He busied himself with stashing the report in his bag, pulling the zipper closed, hands lingering. He heaved a sigh. The world crisis he had ended up in the middle of a year ago had made sure to keep him paranoid and suspicious of anything remotely out of place.

And while reports of abnormal weather hadn't exactly gone through his desk, he had made a point of keeping an eye and ear out for anything that might happen to the world in general. He was constantly expecting another disaster to fall in his lap.

Sudden disappearances of groups of people around the world, abrupt changes in weather, a general change in climate for the whole world…

He knew. It would have taken a long time to get everything back on track. Now with this, even if they managed to find the cause and control the rapidly worsening situation, and counting the already inflicted damage from the Van fiasco weighing everything down, it could take more than just a couple of years.

With a sigh he turned to look outside, the chattering passengers having lost their appeal long ago, his thoughts coming to a stumbling halt.

"_This…"_ he bolted for the door. He pushed the crew member standing guard in front of the door before the man could protest and throwing it open. Stepping out on deck, the only thought running through his mind is _"This is impossible…"_

* * *

"Quit your sniveling boy! Move your ass and go get something to cover that damned hole with!"

The young man snapped around at being addressed and scrambled over the things littering the floor to get to the door, boots cracking the broken remains of a window into smaller pieces.

"And clean the damned mess up before somebody trips over and makes his face minced meat!" the captain yelled after him, pulling another one of his crew upright and shoving him out after the other.

"Make sure the engines are still holding up! If anything's not right, call a mechanic!" He barked at the second man running through the deck to the engine room. He shut the door and brought his hand to wipe the rain off his face.

Another wave slammed against the side of the ship, sending all the frantic sailors to the floor. Yells of indignation and curses followed after the sea water that came in from the broken windows.

Grunting, the man at the helm got to his feet and grabbed the spinning wheel. Pulling himself up, he struggled to stir the ship back to its original course. He didn't dare look outside. He knew all he would see were waves big enough to sink them and lightning flashing all over the sky.

He could navigate with the sonar well enough. If he could keep the ship on a somewhat steady course, he would simply have to wait until he found the island.

His arms trembled with the effort of controlling the wheel. His breaths came in short pants, eyes not leaving the radar. Someone was trying to communicate with the port and he kept shouting into his headset and the Captain was yelling again at the navigator, the man was shaking in his seat with the Captain holering at him.

The yelling was being drowned by the raging sea and the rain and snow pounding against the roof. Water slammed in again from the broken window, building up to reach his ankles and when was that idiot coming back to patch the hole up, they were going to flood in here!

The ship was pushed to the side again and thought he could see his knuckles poking from the skin. Water burst in, throwing the communicator into him and they barreled against the wall.

He banged his head against the metal and watched as the wheel spun around and around and as his sight blacked out he felt the dread creeping into his core and he knew, oh sweet Lorelei they were not going to make it.

The Captain grabbed the wheel, yelling at the slumped pair to get up. He twisted it around and looked outside to the horizon. His eyes widened in shock. What was-

"-ain! Captain! You need to see this Captain!" the door was thrown open, the boy he'd sent to get covers for the window run to his side and started shouting at him, pointing outside, frantic, with eyes almost bulging out.

And just what was happening? Did he know what that was? Could they reach port? The questions run through his mind, the voices and yells fading into the background. His mind refusing to take anything in.

The waves, the storm, the ship, the boy, everything was drowned out. His grip slackened, the wheel starting to turn once more, and he just looked.

He'd heard. Like they all did, avidly, when one of the bolder sailors went to the far north. The stories were so enthralling, so magical they wanted to believe, wanted to go find the so called 'aurora' themselves.

See the pale light changing, hear the music as it twisted around in the sky, feel the thrum of life in the air they breathed. He'd dreamed about it. Imagining the moment so vividly, he could almost see it.

Now it was right in front of him. And the light, the sounds, it was all so...horrifying.

The boy screamed as his Captain was hit with the first ray of light coming towards them, and started disintegrating. The man's eyes were filled with fear, even as his paralyzed body started to disappear into light and a cacophony of major and minors right in front of him.

He turned tail and fled, the sound making his ears ring. What was it, what was it that made such a horrible wail?

He didn't make it to the door before the entire bridge was effulged in the lights of the aurora.


	3. Chapter III

_**A/N:**_I apologize for not having updated for months, but you can't say I haven't warned you. And I am uber busy! P: This one is shorter that the second chapter, sorry about that too.

_**Edit:**_3/1/13 Fooled around a bit.

_Chapter III_

There were seagulls. He could hear their cries over the waves of the sea, though the rumble was muted and far away. The air was humid and heavy, which was expected seeing as he was close to sea.

That which was unexpected, was the fact that he wasn't lying on a grainy beach. Instead, he was in a bed, a bit lumpy with too big a pillow but a bed nonetheless, away from the cold winds, even if he could barely feel his frozen nose.

It was cold, annoyingly so, the blankets draped over him not enough to ward off the chill accompanying the humidity that crept in through every tiny crack in the walls. But he simply could not muster the strength needed to move and retrieve some more blankets or clothes.

The best he could do when it came to moving at this point was flutter open his eyelids, only to be blinded by sunlight. His muscle control was shot to next week, quick bursts of movement were his entire moving set.

He sighed lightly, at the very least, he was still alive. It was quite the encouraging thought. Granted, it wasn't the first life threatening situation he's survived, but it is considered a reason to celebrate nonetheless. Even if it was something he wasn't prone to doing. Celebrating that is - _'Smile, you'll live to see another day!'._

He was tempted to believe he was so doped up on medication he was high too, except even if he was off his rocket, asking some rabbit if he could point his feet to the hatter's tea party to strike down a deal with a dormouse for helping him find his hide-and-seek loving marbles, he doubted he would have been able to come up with a language so unhinged and loud.

He'd been hearing it since he woke up sometime in the early afternoon. Boisterous voices carried the strange tongue down the street outside, more subdued tones coming from the floor below him, but all talking and shouting out in the same, unrecognizable dialect.

Now, it was almost dinnertime and he was nowhere near recognizing it. It was more than a good reason for him to start freaking out. Auldrant has only ever had one Common Tongue. Some older dialects were all but shriveled husks with no more secrets to give.

The biggest difference one could find is the accents and a few idioms varying from continent to continent. And here he was, an entirely new language in a place he wasn't completely sure even _was_ in Auldrant.

The door was opened and closed, soft footsteps stopping in front of his bed and he didn't dare breathe. He hadn't even heard them coming up the stairs. The loud music and off-key singing from downstairs suddenly registered in his mind.

"_I really _am_ so doped on medication I am high, aren't I?"_

Gentle hands lifted his head and grabbed the pillow beneath. A moment later he was pulled up in a semi-sitting position, with his back and neck being supported against the fluffed up pillow.

A grunt escaped him when his muscles and joints protested painfully at the sudden movement after the prolonged motionlessness. He must have been laying here, immobile, for days to hurt so much.

The hands stilled in bringing up the blanket around his shoulders. **"Are you awake?"** was the soft whisper in front of his face. He struggled with his eyelids, carefully prying them open to peer tiredly at the woman's face.

Was she talking to him? She seemed to be asking something. What was he supposed to do? He couldn't understand anything, how was he going to communicate?

His eyebrows furrowed, the muscles pulled sending a tinge of pain through his skull. She was still talking. Her hands had started working again, pulling the blankets around his shoulders, dragging a chair from against the wall to his side, folding her skirts and sitting down.

She bent down to pull a knitting basket on her lap. She droned on. His eyes wandered to her face. She wasn't terribly pretty, or young for that matter. Mid fifties maybe, the years didn't show on her.

He looked at her hands. They hadn't stopped moving for a moment after she saw he was awake. Pale, with long fingers and clipped nails. They had been warm against his neck as they secured the blankets.

There was suddenly silence and he looked at her face. She was staring expectantly at him. Was he supposed to answer to some question or other? He didn't know. They continued to stare at each other.

"_Stranger in a strange land"_, the thought came unbidden in his mind – and how true it was.


	4. Chapter IV

**_A/N:_**Well, it's been a while hasn't it? Sorry for the wait, but life being the nice place it is...Anyway, thanks for reading/reviewing/favoriting/following/whatev! :) Any and all critisism is welcome.

_Chapter IV_

"Mary…Mary!** Listen to **me** for a moment. **You** found him with nothing more than a mild case of pneumonia, from which he has completely healed, **and** no head injuries. Now, he **wakes up**, as healthy as one can be after sleeping for an entire week, **andyou** say he cannot **understand what you are saying** to him. Haven't **you** thought that maybe he doesn't know English?"** the muffled voice came from outside the door. They were talking about him again. Weren't they?

"I** figured that Richard, and that's why **I**'ve been asking foreign costumers to come talk to him! None of them can get through to him! Not English or Spanish or French or Finnish or Norwegian or Danish or Portuguese or, or…oh **I** don't know…" **that was the woman who has been taking care of him. Probably. He so felt drowsy, he could barely keep paying attention.

"**So you thought he…amnesia?" "…else…be?" "…case…nothing…other than wait." **Ah, the voices started drifting away. Maybe he could catch up on some sleep. Things have been so hectic these past couple of days…People coming, people going, people talking and then that person who must be a doctor coming and examining his head.

Between all the _visitors_ and that woman fussing over him constantly, Mary he thinks is her name - just like Guy's sister isn't it? – he hadn't managed to get much sleep. Because they came at random hours and _talked._ They talked so much his ears were ringing by the time they left. And they never_, never_ talked in the same language.

Some spoke in weird slurs of consonants and others in rolling vowels and high voices. After hearing around half a dozen different languages, he could safely say the first tongue he heard, which he thinks is called 'English', is his favorite.

Unhinged it may be, but at least he could distinguish the different words in a sentence. And after a week he may or may not be getting closer to understanding it.

He stared blearily at the ceiling. He has been feeling sluggish all day, could barely focus and felt all too warm to be fine considering the chill that had seeped into his every pore these past days that he's been awake. He was probably running a low fever and he decidedly did not like it.

* * *

"…-nel? Colonel!" his hand jerked, leaving in its path a rather ugly and jagged line of ink on the very official, very important and very annoying last piece of paper of the pile.

He slowly put the pen on the side and looked up with a sweet smile at the person addressing him. Anise was staring angrily at him with her usual pout in place, as if he had given her a great offence and his mere presence was enough to give her grievance.

"Now Anise, what have I ever done to deserve such an expression from you? I haven't forgotten any appointment of ours, have I? Or left the oven burning? Or the sink running?"

She let out an unearthly shriek, taking her head in her hands and wailing. She jumped on his desk, a crazed look on her face and shouted at him. "No Colonel! You're late! You're late and you won't reach in time! No time! None left! Closing in, it's closing can't let it close no cannot _will-not __**mustn't!**_"

She reached for his glasses, yanking them off his face and running out of his office. He chased after her, stamping through the corridors, yelling out at her. Their footfalls echoed through the hallways. Empty they were, of people, of stairs, of potted plants at corners, of windows that were perpetually open and of doors left cracked open to peek out at any commotion _outside-_

"Hey Jade! Why the rush?" Guy was beside him, running down the halls with an easy smile on his face, despite the blood running down his face, the torn and dirty clothes and the mangled arm that was flapping uselessly at his side - he kept pace with him as if he didn't hurt.

They took a sharp turn, Anise just beyond his reach and leaving dark footsteps on her path.

"Anise said there was no time. I very well can't let it _close_ now, can I?" he answered.

Guy's face was overtaken by a dark frown. "No, we can't have that." He whispered and grabbed his arm, throwing him against the wall of the dead end. Anise was standing in the corner, watching with an impassive gaze as the wall swallowed him, letting him fall into the darkness.

He watched as bubbles drifted upwards around him. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with thin air. Lightheadedness swept through him and he shot up on the bed, whispers in his ears and his eyes seemed to glow red as his reflection looked back at him with a scowl.

"_Time is running out."_

* * *

He woke up with a jerk. Arms flailing and legs twisted in the sheets. He fell on the floor and hands grabbed his shoulders, trying to keep him from moving. He struggled against them, eyes wild and barely taking anything other than blurs in. There were whispers in his ears, yells from the distance that didn't quite reach him.

He stilled, hoping that the rustling would stop and he would _hear-_

High screeches came to his ears and he moaned in pain. He wrestled his arms free, clamping his hands over his ears and _ooh make it __**stop!**_

He screamed when icy cold fingers griped his sides. He jerked away, crawling backwards until he was pressed against the wall. The screeching was enough to make his ears bleed, he was sure but his hands didn't find any, did they? No, no blood. There wasn't any blood.

He shuddered, the whispers were back. Grounding at his temple and it was _too much noise, he couldn't make it out can't understand __**can't-**_

Shivers raked his body, he couldn't see anything, his head was throbbing, his ears could very well be bleeding and he can't bring himself to care.

It was there, he could almost, almost…

He fell unconscious before he could finish the thought, a soft voice soothing him into sleep.

_Tue rei ze croa riou tue ze…_


	5. Chapter V

_Chapter V_

The bell over the door chimed, the sound muffled by the hustle around the tables. Mary sneaked a glance to see Jade closing the door behind him with a heel. His hands were busy holding up a bundle of papers and scribbling hurriedly on them, his bag hanging from his elbow.

The handle is probably going to give him a burn one of these days, digging into his skin like that, she thought absently while wiping a table. Summer had begun unusually early and is annoyingly hot this year. That with them being a port town meant that the heat and humidity were working against them.

And that boy had the gal to not even look bothered. She huffed, irritated suddenly with her charge. Four months ago she'd found him almost naked on the beach, nursed him back to health and after he woke up they learnt he apparently had amnesia.

A long-term, all consuming amnesia. The young man could barely remember how to walk those first few days. But maybe that had been the illness and exhaustion making an appearance out of bed.

She tossed the cleaning rug onto the tray overflowing with dirty dishes, lifted it onto her arms and went to leave it in the kitchen to be cleaned later. She bumped the swinging door open with her shoulder and gave the tray to the passing garbage boy along with two new orders.

She saw Richard in the back, hunched over a cutting board with a boiling pot to the side. The man is a good cook, probably the best in town. Now, if only he wasn't so stubborn and listened when people told him to go to a big city, he could - oh what was that expression the youngsters used nowadays?

Her brow furrowed for a moment before she remembered, ah yes, he could 'make it big'.

She swiftly moved behind the counter, grabbing a plate on her way out of the stifling heat of the kitchen, to put some cookies on from the selves behind the counter, put there simply by popular demand, and a soda. People loved seeing sweets, even if they don't plan on eating any, for some reason. She shuffled over to the end of the counter, close to the stairs.

Jade was rummaging through his bulging bag, the counter in front of him littered with papers. A leather bound book with a pencil stuck into it to keep track of the page was pushed to the side, along with the brunette's glasses.

Four months, and Jade already knows half the town by symptoms and the other half by face. Four months is, after all, an awfully long time for people to get sick in. Especially during late spring and early summer, when the weather still isn't exactly sure how to act.

Placing the plate and glass out of the way of the young man's flailing arms, she hang back and observed him. He honestly didn't strike her as a doctor. She watched as he skimmed through some notes before jotting down something on the file he had pulled out.

She swiped the small-framed glasses and tried to read a line or two upside down to see who was ill this time around. Her eyesight just isn't like what it used to be a decade ago. She had a nice pair of two extra eyes upstairs, with a thick, dark brown frame she liked. But she could see a bit better with Jade's too.

Old Lucas, the town doctor, had been harping at her all year before she caved in and let him get her those glasses. He was a bit eccentric and zealous about his work - in a good way - and it paid off, since nobody remained sick for longer than absolutely necessary.

After Jade had found his feet, and they'd managed to get English through his head (a surprisingly easy task all things considered, now that she thought about it) he'd surprised the man with his knowledge of medicine.

Somehow the young man had forgotten _everything_ except his trade and half his name. And according to Lucas, Jade (who wasn't a doctor exactly she'd been told, but she couldn't understand much of what Lucas was babbling about at the time) was also a biology-ist and a physic-ist, if she remembered the words correctly. Whatever those things meant.

Not that anybody other than Lucas and herself knew that. And it wouldn't make a difference to the townspeople. They knew there was another doctor around now and that he was pleasant enough.

She put Jade's glasses back on the counter, information gleaned about the baker's second daughter having chickenpox and went back to the kitchen to get those orders she'd given.

* * *

Later that night Mary was helping Richard clean a bit around the kitchen before going upstairs to get something to eat and go to bed. She'd have to drag Jade from his desk as well. She swore, that boy was a work-a-holic.

One time when the boy wouldn't stop working she'd hollered for Richard to come and haul him to bed, and said that if he did that again she'd grab her broom and whack him over the head till he was out cold and dragged him to bed.

It was a story to say for a few laughs for them. And they made sure Jade was around to hear. It was the only thing that actually embarrassed him. Nothing else would ruffle his feathers. It was almost annoying.

She giggled a bit. He was a bit cute when she managed to get him to blush. Too bad she wasn't able to do it often.

She was shaken out of her thoughts when an explosion form the other side of the street shook the building.

Richard reached over and pulled her to the floor with a panicked look. Small debris and pieces of flaming wood crashed though the windows, a few knocking against her bare arms.

The ground stopped trembling and she looked up to Richard's frightened eyes. The door opened with a bang and she swiveled around to see Jade's grim face and hear him saying to them in a snippy, matter-of-fact voice to get to the cellar.

Richard's booming voice in her ear suddenly startled her into _hearing_ again, and she realized Jade's order had seemed to have been coming from far away. "What are you saying! We have to go see what happened, we need to go he-"

"You won't be helping anyone unless you do as I say. You cannot help in this situation." Jade cut him off, his tone betraying his irritation. That's when she noticed the metal pole in his hand. One end was broken and jagged with a sharpened rock jammed into the hollow of the metal and carefully tied with rough rope.

She blinked, had that weird '_schnick_' noise she'd been hearing one night been him sharpening the rock? The weapon was primitive, but in the entire town there weren't more than five rifles. Kitchen knives were the next best bet.

She threw open a drawer to look for her butcher knife as more booming and crashing came from a few streets down. Hands were tagging at her arm and she could hear the boys arguing back and forth.

Her fingers curled around the handle of the cleaver knife and she turned around to look at the bickering duo just as Richard was reaching for Jade's shoulder to yank him out of the doorway.

The hand hadn't taken hold of the skinny shoulder before Jade had its owner at spear point. The rock was lightly pressed against the hollow of the throat, not nearly enough to draw blood but enough to make a point.

"If you want to walk to your death, be my guest. But if you want to have a chance at seeing the day of light again, you will not question me and follow orders, do you understand?"

From where Mary stood, it seemed as if Jade was giving Richard an ultimatum. A heartbeat later she realized it was exactly that.

If they'd gone to the cellar as Jade had told them moments ago, instead of stalling to find a weapon and arguing, she wouldn't have had to see the monstrosity that had burst into her restaurant, destroying the entire wall and half the tables and chairs.

Her hands flew to her mouth to muffle her shriek of terror. The scent of death and blood oozing off the creature was enough to make her gag and just how was Jade pushing them to the backdoor with such a calm expression? All the while with a hand on Richard's mouth, making sure the other man didn't make a sound.

They quietly walked out the door, their footsteps masked by the screams of dying people on the streets and explosions. Her eyes looked to the opening of the alley into the street, as another of those creatures with the cannons and grotesque faces fired bullets at people and bombing buildings.

She was dragged backwards, almost falling down, but the hand around her arms kept her upright and moving.

They moved between buildings, keeping to the alleyways she had explored as a child. All the while the boys' urgent whispers passing ove rher head. The sounds of mayhem started to sound far away, kept that way by the crashing of the waves and realized with a start they had reached the harbor.

Absentminded, she noted that there weren't many people around. They went to board the only manned ship and they were almost on deck when she was traded between hands that she noticed that she was still clutching her knife and that Jade, his clothes splattered with blood and dirt, was walking away.

She reached a hand out to catch his sleeve but he was already running down the bridge between ship and harbor.

She watched in muted horror as one of those infernal creatures rose up above the buildings and shot at the ship. She watched as Jade whirled around, hair snapping in the air and eyes wide with fear.

She could feel a smile stretching on her face. Yes, that's right. She was smiling at Jade. Jade, who for a few months had been almost a son to her. And he was everything she could dream to be proud of.

She gave him a small wave and burning his image in her mind, turned to see the bullets and bombs raining down on them.

Time to see what came next.

* * *

"Sir? Sir, we have a survivor!" General Tiedoll turned from his sketch to look at the finder in front of him. Had he heard correctly?

He continued to stare at the excited man silently for a while as his mind tried to wrap itself around the fact – was it really? A fact? Truly?

His gaze sifted to look at the devastation surrounding them. The buildings were razed to the ground, leaving only a few skeletons to rise up from the ruble. Smoke was in the air and ash covered every inch of the entire town.

He picked up the report from on top of his sack. He skimmed through it, though he knew exactly what was written. The Akuma had attacked at late evening yesterday from all sides, boxing the people in and taking them by surprise.

Presumably, most people had run out to see what the first explosions were about and were shot. What followed was a massacre of the first degree, with the only mass escape attempt by ship thwarted and all possible survivors killed.

Even the few who tried to leave through the sewers were discovered and the entire network was destroyed so as to prevent any more escapees. Along with the sewers, any and all cellars and underground rooms and passages were unearthed and destroyed.

Looking at these facts, one can understand that the Akuma were being, more likely than not, ordered around by at least one Noah and they were desperate and very thorough in…_cleaning_ the town. Quite possibly looking for Innocence.

Looking back at the finder standing in front of him, Froi was hard pressed to believe that someone survived this. But it wasn't a reason for him not to believe.

"S-sir?" the finder's voice was muted compared to what it was moments ago. The General gave the nervous man a smile.

"Let's go see them then, shall we?"

The finder's face brightened as he gestured for the older man to follow him. As they weaved through the few tents where finders and exorcists rested after scouring the town for any stray Akuma, Tiedoll wondered just how they had managed to miss such a large force moving so close around Headquarters.

They made their way to the biggest tend serving as the station for the medics. And depending on how one looked at it, the medics were, fortunately or unfortunately, not very busy. Only a few corpses were more than dust and the exorcists and finders didn't get anything other than a few scratches from carelessness.

So it was immediately that he spotted a young man sitting on a cot, being fussed over by a medic. As they neared he managed to see that he was around his own age with long, light brown hair matted with blood and dirt.

He had a bloodied gauze around his forehead and his right arm in a cast. As he reached the foot of the cot he managed to glimpse the tip of a stitched gash starting from the man's right shoulder and presumably running down to his left hip - if the bad imitation of a mummy was any indication.

The medic finished tying the bandages around the man's torso and didn't turn to look at Tiedoll and the finder as she gathered the dirty bandages from the floor.

"Don't tire him General, he hasn't slept all night and his wounds are serious." She moved to the back without another word. The finder had found a perch to the side and brought out some paper and a pencil to write a report as Froi made some questions.

He sent the man swaying on the cot a kind smile. "We won't keep you for long. Just a couple quick questions and you can rest, alright?"

The brunette gave a small, slow nod. His head was probably swimming with pain and exhaustion.

"Well, let's start with something easy. What's your name?" the general watched as the man turned to look at him with a pair of piercing eyes.

He was a bit startled to hear a relatively deep voice coming from someone so thin and gaunt, and he almost forgot to listen.

"Jade."

* * *

**_A/N:_**Hey people! Thanks for coming to another instalment to "Relative Relations"!

And to reply to **Patrick the almighty observer** -sorry for not responding earlier- there is a random idea I liked about interwordly transportation here, which will be explained sometime in the future. And don't worry there _is a plot _to this! I've got eveything figured with a beginning, a plot and an ending!

**Edit 6/3/13: **Fixed a couple of embarrasing mistakes and added a little tidbit.


	6. Chapter VI

_Chapter VI_

His arm had still been in the cast and his back aching something fierce when he was sent to the organization's headquarters. Tiedoll, who seemed like a nice enough person if prone to daydreaming and drawing too much, made sure he was brought there safely.

The man had pestered him during questioning as well. His patience had been running thin all night and he hadn't had enough left to entertain him. People he'd knew and rather liked had been killed right in front of him and he couldn't have done anything. He hadn't slept a wink all night and he'd lost quite a bit of blood.

Still the man had not taken a hint and left him to his peace. His excuse of amnesia had obviously not impressed him. Eventually the doctor had had enough of the exorcist pestering her patient and sent him off.

Some days latter the camp had been disbanded and he was on a train with Tiedoll on their way to the headquarters of the so-called Black Order. Apparently it was fairly inland and they reached their destination a few days later, after changing enough trains for Jade to get bored counting and finding no use in memorizing.

He was being brought before the Head Supervisor. The man was retiring, or being demoted, or even reassigned. He cannot say he rather cared or was in good enough health to actually hear what was being said to him.

He had a pounding headache and a fever caused by his body fighting off a minor case of infection. His runny nose just completed the rather funny picture he made.

After the bomb had sunk the ship, he had taken a dip into the still cold ocean himself. He'd clang to a jagged part of the smashed harbor and every time one of those monsters neared - because those things could be nothing other than monsters - he would dive under the water and hide beneath some drifting wood from the ship.

He spent all night in the water until the air had seemed warm against his skin. Sometime before dawn the monsters had left the wrecked town. He hadn't attempted to leave the ocean until the shouting of the exorcists had reached his ears. By then his teeth had been chattering and he would wager his lips had been a nice shade of blue.

His fingers had creaked in protest when he'd tried climbing out of the ocean. The cold had made them weak and his fingers had slipped from the edge of the wall. He had tried to push himself away from the smashed and jagged wall, but didn't manage it.

His back was cut open and he fell on top of his arm on the blunt rocks beneath a thin layer of water next to the wall.

He had been so tired at that point that he couldn't keep the howl of pain that leapt from his lips. In moments he had been surrounded by people, actual people who were still _alive-_

After they'd reached him, he must have lost consciousness for a while, because when he opened his eyes again he wasn't in the ocean anymore, but lying down on a hard cot with his arm in a hastily made cast and the doctor mumbling about needing to put it in a better one as soon as possible.

"…such, we can offer you a place here in the Order as a researcher, or you can…"

Ah, yes. Now they were giving him an easy way out, were they? Of course, at this point in the war they are waging with the - akuma, wasn't it? - they would need people. Of course, with no _memory_ and _all the people he ever knew_ killed by those monsters, he would want to _assist_ them in any way possible.

Not mentioning the fact that they could not just let him go like that. He had after all survived a full scale attack of the akuma. And they couldn't have him running around blubbering about the akuma and the Order itself. He was a liability.

Whatever the case that they were presenting him was, he didn't have many options to choose from.

If he left, he would be shadowed and he couldn't risk searching for a way back to Auldrant with them keeping track of his every move for a very long time.

If he stayed, again he would be shadowed. But it would be just them keeping an eye out for any problems he might have, mental or otherwise. Or even making sure he wasn't a spy, since the giant gate out front had made it a little difficult for him to be let through.

It had caused a fuss, but after an hour or so they had declared him human and passed it off as a malfunction due to a lingering presence of the akuma on him.

But the scrutiny would let up after a while. This choice had the added possibility of him stumbling across a way back.

Really, all he could do was accept the proposal or reject it. Either he stayed or he left. And frankly speaking, for him, the choice wasn't even negotiable.

The supervisor had barely finished his speech, which Jade hadn't even bothered to listen to beyond the important parts - the man rather liked to talk – before he agreed to join them.

* * *

The supervisor hadn't even paused to process Jade's answer, he'd immediately welcomed him and started fishing around his overflowing with paperwork desk for some papers and a pen.

Tiedoll, who had remained silent through the interview, as that's what it'd been, had merely raised an eyebrow at him. Jade had resisted the urge and not turned to wink at him. It wouldn't do to let the man in so easily.

It was fun keeping him confused with mixed signals.

He chuckled to himself, alone as he was in his new room in the headquarters he could indulge in some not-so-sane behavior.

One month after his joining the Order he'd managed to meet the team of scientists in this Branch of the Order. At this time, he was restricted to helping around the infirmary only. Apparently they trusted him to not poison the wounded but not around highly sensitive materials in the labs.

However they'd managed to decide which of those two is more important, he doesn't know.

He finished writing down a note on his latest patient with a flourish, adding yet another page to the growing file among growing files. He let the pen on the desk and flexed his fingers. It had been a challenge learning to write legibly with his other hand.

The cast had come off just yesterday and the stitches on his back last week. Though all he'd really done to his arm was to give hairline fractures to the bone, not outright break it in two, and his back's cut wasn't deep as much as annoying.

But the doctor had been so flustered by the group of exorcists bursting into the tent with a soaked to the bone, half-covered in blood and very unconscious but undeniably alive person, that she all she could make out from their shouting was that he'd broken his arm and cut open his back.

She'd been frantic enough to not care much about whether that was entirely true or not, as she'd explained to him the other day. The infirmary's patients were few and in-between this month, so they had enough time to chat.

He rose from his chair and put on his white lab coat. It's been a while since the last time he'd worn a doctor's coat. It brought back memories of a comical situation at the labs in Belkend, when they were still running around trying to stop a megalomaniac from destroying the world.

Fun times. The smile on his face took on a slightly sadistic glint as he walked into the cafeteria. He also remembered vividly the look on everybody's face when he had _killed_ his test subject with his antidote. It had been so easy to rile them up.

He was dragged out of his thoughts by a group of lab coats waving at him and telling him to go join them. He made for the table quickly, lest they believe he was being 'shy' and sitting away from them again. The endearments he'd been subjected to that time he wasn't eager to be receiving again.

The first few times he had gone to sit on his own, he hadn't remained alone for more than five minutes. Scientists, finders and even a few exorcists had come over and tried to strike up conversation with him.

The exorcists kept asking him about the attack. Whether it actually happened, if he'd killed any akuma, or even if that rumor about him surviving a confrontation with a Noah was true.

The finders on the other hand always asked him for tips in outmaneuvering akuma and how to best hide form them. They were convinced that since he had managed to live through an entire night with them running rampart, then he would have to be some expert in survival.

He, of course, knew quiet a bit more than the average finder, but that didn't automatically make him some sort of mentor to them all.

The scientists, now they, unfailingly came to his 'rescue'. From the first day he was taken to the lab to be introduced they had taken him under their wings. Or at least, that's what they believed.

They were a rather novel bunch. Closely-knit and thirsting for new blood. And he had given them exactly what they wanted. They don't much care for the fact that he isn't yet supposed to be around the lab.

The lab has come to him. They are constantly dropping by the infirmary, the library, the cafeteria and his room, always asking around for him and when they do manage to find him, they bombard him with questions, suggestions, tips and all manner of inquiries.

They aren't deterred by the fact that he is first a coroner and a biologist and second a physicist. Not at all. They keep asking for his opinion for the akuma's anatomy, from their possible biology to where they could manage to fire their bullets to what substance they use to feed and what they do with indigestible parts and other nasty details.

At times they are good at keeping all others away, along with their questioning glances. Most of the time though, their demand for his attention is almost unbearable.

Even now, half absorbed by the food as they should be, they are tossing ideas and speculations back and forth. If he chose to listen, he would probably hear them passing between them mental notes about some chemical formula or about the central circuit in a mechanical invention that's been giving them trouble.

He feared the moment they would ask for his opinion if he didn't immerse himself in some conversation or other soon.

The more laid-back ones he could hear gossiping about the latest rumor that was making the rounds or even telling some joke that had become rather popular. If he chose to ask them, they would be able to tell him more about the Order, the exorcists and the higher echelon than the supervisor himself.

Apparently, the rumor mill was the best laid information network in any world.

And he was of half a mind to ask them about a few things. With his excuse of amnesia he could ask them just about anything he wanted. That is, unless it was science related.

They had put him through a series of tests when they were gauging his abilities at the beginning, to check whether he actually remembered what he said he did.

He'd been reminded of his earlier years, when he'd still been a student. Down to the T. Including the dumbfounded expressions on the professors' faces. It wouldn't do for him to blow his image to the wind.

He nibbled on his meal, not really hungry and far more interested in the whispers he sometimes hears them talking in whenever he passes them by in the corridors and they don't jump at him.

Anything good enough to divert their attention from him, coupled with the fact that they avoided the basements like the plague made for quiet the interesting mystery.

In the meantime though, there was something somewhat more pressing happening which was also interesting and much easier to start a conversation about.

"Mister Lujun? Would you mind terribly to answer a question or two?"

A simple request from him was enough to have the science department members in hearing distance running to help him. It was almost ridiculous. Even if the old supervisor kept reassuring him that they would be less tiresome in a couple of months, after they have 'conditioned' him, as he says.

For now though, they are sympathetic and thrilled enough to be keeping an extra eye on him and trying to make him feel welcomed and comfortable and it served his purposes well.

The older man, Jiji Lujun if Jade remembered his entire name correctly, was one of the friendlier people around, if a bit prone to starting arguments with some of his superiors. It was bound to get him into trouble one day.

Regardless, he was willing to give Jade the information he needed without fuss. Especially if he asked nicely.

"Anything you want to know, go ahead and ask!"

"What can you tell me about the new supervisor?"

The man that was going to be taking over the European Branch has yet to make an appearance. Though rumors have been flying around about him for a couple of weeks already.

The old supervisor doesn't divulge any information, unlike his usual self. It seems that he is also rather busy preparing the seat for his successor, so even if he were in the mood to hand out opinions, there isn't enough time to get past the pleasantries and get to the main course.

And if you had a few members of the rumor mill constantly around you, you tend to be well informed whether you want to or not. It's usually better to ask them first rather than have them babble away when you're trying to work anyway.

Besides, he wanted to make a nice impression. One of his usual smiles stretched across his face while he listened to Jiji chatter away. And if the scientists that saw that smile broke in cold sweat, well, that couldn't be blamed on him, could it?

* * *

**A/N:** I have been informed that the story is rather humorous. Though it wasn't my intention, the story isn't exactly dark and I always write in a somewhat light tone. Hmm, I might change the genre later...

If you don't remember, Jiji Lujun is a scientist that was introduced before the Disappearance of Marian arc, so he isn't an OC, like Mary and Richard from the previous chapters - and they were more like people that had to be there rather than OCs. He was supposedly in the European Branch and two years before -man he got into a fight with superiors and got demoted to the Asian Branch.

And I promised to RedHerring, I'll try explaining part of my theory on fonons in Earth. It will mostly be explained in later chapters. For now, know that Jade is made of fonons while Earth doesn't have them. And instead of dispersing, they are 'locked' in the form they have at the moment, so the spear he uses in the game is unreachable. It is my belief that, like atoms, fonons hit each other constantly and they wear out. Which leads to change in materials and people aging (you'll see, or you probably have an idea why I mention people aging, but it'll be explained later).

And as you may have noticed, the chapters have time gaps between them. Since Jade is a scientist he works 'backstage', so it's definitely different than what could have been if he'd been an exorcist. And I really like this drabbe-ish thing going on.

Anyway, thanks for reading and sorry for the long A/N. And rest assured, the next chapter is already under development, so it won't be long now!

**Edit 6/3/13:** Fixed a couple of things.


	7. Chapter VII

_Chapter VII_

The stairs leading to the basement were steep and slippery. If one wasn't careful they would be taking a nice tumble down to the bottom, unless they pushed both hands against the slimy walls firmly. And even then the most they could manage was to make themselves fall with their rear on the edge of a step.

Rather unpleasant business if one asked him.

So he wasn't actually fond of going down this particular flight. But orders were orders and he had to obey, especially when it came from the old supervisor as a last favor.

Why though the man had asked Jade to 'go down and see if he would be able to do something', he hadn't yet managed to figure out. When said orders didn't exactly detail what it was that he was supposed to do, it was even more intriguing.

Even with him keeping his ears open to all information he might hear and asking when it would seem the least suspicious, Jade hadn't been successful in finding out what was going on in the lower levels.

People were unusually tight-lipped about this topic. Except the old supervisor - and he couldn't really call him that anymore, could he? The man left just this morning and the new supervisor will be coming sometime next week.

* * *

"_Jade, come here! Won't you say anything to this old man leaving at the crack of dawn? You won't be seeing me again after all…Closer. Closer boy! Oh, for pity's sake!"_

_The man was taller than Jade almost by a head and wider by two. He particularly disappeared from view in the bear hug. He could hear the other scientists smothering giggles in the background. Even the few ones that were sniffing just a moment ago._

_Of course, if he traded places with someone, he would be laughing and they would be scheming to get back at them through various means. Which may or may not include hiding tools, tweaking inventions and, naturally, spiking the coffee._

_When the supervisor leaned into his ear and whispered some quick instructions he discarded all those time consuming plans and settled on employing the same methods he did with the group back in Auldrant. Much easier and guaranteed to succeed._

"_Basement below the infirmary. Don't take anyone with you. Don't ask questions. Go and see if you can do anything."_

_He released him, his ribs creaking in protest, and immediately turned to grab the nearest person into a hug. He didn't remember ever seeing people disperse so quickly before._

* * *

His footsteps echoed lightly as he walked down the corridor. It was dark and dank, with an irritating smell in the air that could have been vomit, medication, sweat or even something dyeing in some corner.

He sighed tiredly, switching the torch he was holding to the other hand. For all the good recovery he's made, his hand still felt a bit weak. The unending corridor that he has been traversing for at least half an hour is definitely not helping.

He rounded a corner and stopped abruptly. There were two finders standing in the darkness in front of a door. The corridor went on from what he could see in the limited light, probably ending somewhere near the canals if he were to make an estimation.

And it would probably be correct, as it has been a straightforward tunnel up to this point. With no side corridors or dead ends or even rooms. Taking into consideration the route that he had been led down, then he's probably made half a circuit around the tower and then the zigzagging way has brought him close to the sewers and the canals.

Very long route to traverse for such an easy to reach place. Well, easy if one excluded the trip down the stairs, he amended remembering his almost tumble down.

The guards have probably been informed of the situation, as they didn't make a move to make him leave. Instead they gave him an envelope and mentioned for him to keep quite.

They gave him a chair to sit and a small flashlight and put out the torch he'd brought. Without a word, they re-took their stations in front of the door and seemingly engrossing themselves in a conversation through expressions and gestures and he wondered just how they could see in the darkness.

Chalking it up as well-adjusted eyes, he turned his attention to the papers he pulled out of the envelope. They weren't many and were sparingly written on. It was hand-written notes more than anything, really. Still, a skim would help pour some light into this bizarre situation.

An eyebrow lifted as he looked at the picture of a young girl on the only printed page. _"Well, doesn't this look promising."_ he though with disdain. Nothing good ever came out of involving children in organizations, much less in organizations dedicated to war.

He started reading the notes below the picture, leaving the other few pages balanced on his thigh.

His eyes narrowed as he continued on to read the neat scrawl of the supervisor - former supervisor, he reminded himself with building irritation. If it was towards himself because he kept making the mistake or because of the observations on the notes, by the time he stood and walked right past the guards to go inside, he didn't quiet care.

"Lenalee."

The girl strapped on the bed didn't seem to even hear his voice, much less his calling her name. He observed her for some minutes quietly. It was already in the notes, but he wanted to check for himself.

He sighed, talking and silently staring at her hadn't worked for anyone else and he certainly hadn't expected it would for him.

He remained like that, standing by the door way, thinking for a good bit of time. When he turned to leave he snatched the papers and the envelope from the chair.

"I will need some matches." he murmured at the guards.

They reluctantly gave him the matches he'd asked for and before they could react he'd put the papers on fire. He pushed the finder that had come forward to stop him into the other one with enough strength to send them both stumbling into the wall.

He stared at the small flame until all that was left were ashes.

The torch he'd brought down was by the open door, forgotten open apparently by the scene he'd created. When he straightened, torch already ablaze with the help of a few matches, he noticed the girl looking at him.

He blinked at the sight, looking more carefully. No, not at him. She was looking at the torch.

A hand touched his shoulder hesitantly. Maybe, he shouldn't have used so much force. The guards asked him if he was over yet or not. They had orders to keep the door closed at all times so he should either get in or get out. They had left it open long enough.

He stared speculatively at them for a moment before one of his usual smiles appeared on his face. He handed the man the torch and instructed him to hang it in the room for as long as it burned.

They gave him a dubious look but didn't protest.

* * *

He returned to the basement a little later the next day, after he'd managed to extract himself from the clutches of the scientists in the lab with the promise to return when he'd finished his 'errand'. He would need an excuse to disappear now, he couldn't keep saying he had some unknown errand to run. They would all get suspicious.

The oil lamp he'd brought along this time was swinging lightly from its handle, making small screeching noises that echoed down the corridor. It was better that the torch he'd opted to bring last time. And he had a second one in his bag, to leave with Lenalee. It seemed to be the only thing that could get a response out of her.

When he made to bring it in the room, the guards protest. Instructions form previous doctors said to not bring any sort of object that can potentially be used as a weapon - which included just about any sort of object one can carry, Jade's mind reminded tiredly - and any sort of illumination should be limited and used only when absolutely needed.

He looked at them over the rim of his glasses for a moment. It seemed this organization was populated by more retards than he'd first imagined.

"Are there any other _doctors_ coming to see to this girl?"

His replies were hesitant 'no's.

"Have these orders been exactly issued so that they apply to any new orders regarding the process of rehabilitating that I will be giving?"

"N-no, sir."

This time they were more formal. Good, they can learn.

"Then you will not be disturbing me while I am in the room for however long it takes this time, or the ones that will follow. Nor will you be questioning my methods of treatment."

"Yes, sir."

"Are there any other orders regarding Lenalee Lee that I should be aware of?"

This time they looked at each other questioningly, expressions changing for a few moments in silent conversation before they turned to him again.

"Inspector Lvellie has said to follow the orders of the doctors whatever they may be until the exorcist is ready to be active."

Jade has heard of things regarding this _inspector,_ though not a bit of it is good. He hummed thoughtfully as he walked into the room, leaving the guards to breathe easily again.

He closed the door quietly behind him. Feeding the lamp a little more fuel, he turned to look at his charge. It seemed she was asleep this time and not at all disturbed by the light, bright as it was in the dark room.

He left the bag and lamp next to the door and walked the four steps it took to go from wall to opposite wall to the tiny side table and short stool. He dragged them over with as little noise as he could next to the head of the bed.

He sat on the stool and pulled his bag in his lap. The lamp was put on the corner of the table, the rest of the surface got covered with notes and papers about some new invention half the department was working on shortly after.

He wondered just what he would be able to do about the shape of some robot-like machine whose circuits were hanging all over the lab. Really, the only things he could help them with are organisms and chemicals. And the occasional scratch they got.

He found himself almost wishing Guy was there so he could dump him with the notes to take care of the architecture of the machine and go read a book. The younger man was infinitely more useful compared to him when it came down to machinery.

The memory of that one time at the Meggiora Highland's Sephirot where Guy went into one of his crazes over the AI-controlled maintenance robot sprang up in his mind. The blonde had been depressed over it's destruction for the rest of the trip through the Sephirot until they had to focus on something else.

A somewhat crazy idea popped up in his mind as he reminisced. He rolled the idea in his mind for a few minutes, trying to decide how he could work it out on paper. He was absorbed enough that he didn't notice Lenalee opening her eyes to a figure half hidden in the shadows, sitting in front of the light.

* * *

Needless to say that the lab was more than a bit excited to see the Jade's bastardized, half-forgotten memory of the robot that was more likely than not a pile of scrap metal gathering dust somewhere in Meggiora's Sephirot entrance.

Really, it was more scribbles on the side than an actual plan. It was though better than anything they had come up with by that point. Even if they started spotting flaws a minute into checking it.

Regardless, it took their attention off him so he could at last concentrate on what had been troubling him the past couple of days.

A heavy sigh left his lips just before walking out of the lab. Jade didn't pay attention to the hush that suddenly fell over the lab as the flaps of his coat disappeared behind the closing door.

* * *

Jiji breathed in through his nose and exhaled from his mouth. It would seem the old supervisor had given quiet the task to their newest member. And he knew exactly what was giving him grief.

His eyes swept across the room, taking in the worried faces of his colleagues. Since the man hadn't asked for help directly and all those careful inquires about the basement had ceased the day the director had left, it appears that the supervisor had specifically told him not to involve anyone else.

They couldn't outright go and tell him everything they knew - which admittedly wasn't much - but they could also not leave him to deal with this alone.

"We could always drop hints of ideas around. He's smart, he'll figure them out. If they work or not is up to him."

His proposition was taken in stride with random nods and yells of acknowledgement following him on his way to his station as all of them returned to work.

He just hoped Jade would either give up or get results before the end of the next week when the new supervisor will be arriving. They hadn't managed to learn much of anything about the guy and they had to be careful.

You can never know what sort of person one can be and how he will react to all this.

* * *

**A/N:** I told you I would be updating sooner than usual! Hope you like, though the chaper could have come out better.

And some of you might have noticed that the genre has been changed from Gen to Humor and the summary is entirely new. Yeah, neither of them had sat well with me from the beggining.

Anyway, thank you for reading and even though I don't particularily mind the absence, a review or two would be appreciated. Y'know, a little advice?

See you in the next chappy! (Which may take a while...sorry?)


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